A member of the Ballon d’Or panel has admitted he forgot to vote for Vinicius Jr.
His error contributed to the loss by the more popular Vinicius who was edged by Manchester City’s Rodrigo Hernandez.
For his error, the journalist Juha Kanerva, who works for a publication in Finland, Ilta-Sanomat, has resigned.
Kanerva failed to include Vinicius in his top ten despite the winger enjoying a stellar year in which he helped Real Madrid win the UEFA Champions League.
According to UK publication, Daily Mail, a Real Madrid fan pointed out that Kanerva was one of only three journalists not to include Vinicius in his top ten.
He wrote: ‘This was my technical fault, for which I take responsibility. I am leaving my place as Ballon d’Or selector.’
According to France Football, the other two journalists that didn’t include Vinicius in their top ten were Bruno Porzio of El Salvador and Sheefeni Nikodemus from Namibia.
Journalists from 99 different countries submitted votes, with Syria abstaining from doing so.
As reported by Marca, Kanerva chose Rodri as his Ballon d’Or winner followed by Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.
William Saliba, Ademola Lookman and Dani Carvajal were amongst the players that were included in his top ten.
Vinicius was absent from the ceremony in Paris after being informed that he wouldn’t win, with his Real Madrid team-mates also snubbing the event.
These were the votes given by the Finnish journalist for the 2024 Ballon d’Or:
Rodrigo Hernandez: 15 points
Erling Haaland: 12 points
Jude Bellingham: 10 points
Toni Kroos: 8 points
Florian Wirtz: 7 points
Declan Rice: 5 points
Lamine Yamal: 4 points
William Saliba: 3 points
Ademola Lookman: 2 points
Dani Carvajal: 1 point
